BAE announces job losses across three of its UK sites.

BAE systems, one of the UK’s largest defence and aerospace companies, has announced it has begun consultations with staff at its Chadderton and Barrow-in-Furness sites and RAF Kinloss over potential job losses.

BAE’s UK Military Air Solutions Business said it was considering 41 potential job losses at its Chadderton site near Manchester, with 16 possible losses within its team at RAF Kinloss in Scotland.

It attributed the decision to actions by the UK government, which decided in December to withdraw the Nimrod MR2 force 12 months early and slow the introduction of the MRA4. The Nimrod MR2 recently came under scrutiny as the aircraft which crashed in Afghanistan and killed 14 service personnel in 2006. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) was accused in the crash report of “sacrificing safety to cut costs.”

Kevin Taylor, Managing Director of Military Air Solutions, commented on the announcement: “Whilst we regret having to make this announcement we have to respond to the changes in the UK’s defence programme.

“We will work with our employees and their representatives to explore ways of mitigating these potential job losses.”

The company also announced it was consulting with around 230 staff at its Submarine Solutions business in Barrow-in-Furness. After a detailed review of its current and future workload requirements, BAE said the action was “regrettable”, but said it would minimise the need for compulsory redundancies.

Unite has reacted angrily to the news. National Officer, Bernie Hamilton, said: “This is an extremely disappointing decision. BAE Systems cannot afford to lose out on any of the skills these workers possess.

“The company must now work with the unions to ensure that there are no compulsory redundancies, not just for the security of the staff affected but for the good of the company’s knowledge base and the UK’s manufacturing capability.”